A Change in a Call to Serve
Rachel Schwandt,
St. Timothy’s Anglican Church
When I was in college studying nursing, I found this quote,
“Those who seek knowledge in order to serve that is love.” Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
A Call to Serve
As a young person, I was drawn to the idea of serving the community, which ultimately led me to choose a service profession. As a mom of two young children, who has stepped away from some of the aspects of serving that I once loved, I find myself adrift. This quote I artfully wrote on white printer paper with a pencil and stuck to a piece of cardboard reminded me of something during that time. It reminded me of the people without homes whom I desperately wanted to serve. It reminded me that the time I spent reading textbooks would one day amount to a calling and a purpose.
When I stopped nursing at the bedside, I felt I had lost that. It is not valid, of course. I exchanged my external service model for the intimate and challenging work of “new baby service.” The result of feeding in the middle of the night became my timepiece for the season. Then I added another child before coming up for air on the first: an adventure to say the least, and another opportunity to pour out myself. My service, for now, is attending to two tiny and demanding people.
A New Calling
In the last year, I have taken on a new type of service, which I have found is threefold. My husband and I took over our parish nursery. We had a vested interest in the program, so we decided to follow the whispers of the Lord toward this new area. Toddlers, while beloved by some, are also sometimes avoided by many. They have attitudes too big for their little bodies, resulting in great tantrums of legendary proportions.
This new role has pushed me out of my comfort zone by asking me to make new relationships with women outside of our church who need a job. Incredible and lovely women willing to work on Sunday mornings and hang out with toddlers. It’s this fantastic opportunity for some of the people in our community.
The second portion of this service is the offering to the parents of our parish. We offer time to sit with the Lord undistracted by tiny sticky hands. These parents may not have regular opportunities to sit and enjoy a sermon or fellowship between services. I see their weary faces come in the doors on Sundays, and sometimes I think I can see them leave with a little bit less of that heavy burden.
Baptismal Vows
Lastly, I suppose there is also the opportunity to draw near the women and men who do not have small children. We seek to draw them in, remind them of the joy of toddlers, and ask them to read silly books. I feel I am re-acquainting these volunteers with the Baptismal vows they spoke over children’s heads.
In Anglicanism, we ask the congregation, “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?” (ACNA BCP 2019, p. 165)
And the congregation boldly proclaims, “We will.”
I have said these words countless times myself.
I now remember my college days, when I was so focused on serving a specific under-resourced community. I attended a small church meeting in a gymnasium during that time. They asked for volunteers to help with children and toddlers, and really, they begged. But I said, “I am not called to that.”
Oh, sweet baby, Rachel…
We can often look around and see jobs that seem out of our comfort zone or things we just plain don’t want to do, but that is really where the rubber meets the road on service.
A Hard Call
In the nitty gritty moments of hard things, when we choose to whisper a yes to God’s asking. Did young Rachel ever think she would one day participate in children’s ministry and drag others along with her? No!
But the Lord is KING, and God, He softens our hearts. God gives us the desire to match the needs of God’s church.
How good is our God?
